THE COLONIAL VOLUNTEERS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6962, 28 November 1900, Page 4

THE COLONIAL VOLUNTEERS.

APPRECIATION BY LORD ROBERTS. COMPOSITE CONTINGENT IN ACTION. [From Oun. correspondent.] CAPE TOWN, Oct. 20. The enormous value of the Colonial Con- j tingents from all parts of the Kmpi're is shown in the reluctance -with which Lord Roberts assents to the departure of any sec- j tion leaving the field until the campaign for- j nially closes. For jsome weeks past there ! lias been a widely-expressed desire on the part of employers and relatives of the Volunteer Forces of -Cape Colony .to return to their homes and occupations. These men have been in the field exactly twelve months, and, with the drawing of the war to a close, there is the idea that the regular forces ot the Queen should be allowed to do the cleaning-up process and. allow the colonial troops to return to their ordinary work. The Field-Marshal, who owes more to the Colonial Contingents fchan many of the army officers are prepared to admit, will not, however, assent to their leaving, and during the past week he has addressed an appeal to employers in Cape Colony to allow . their men to remain a little longer and to retain their positions for them. He pays a high tribute to the work that the Colonial Volunteers have performed, and the compliment is greatly appreciated. It is satisfactory to be able to state that employers of volunteers now at the front are keeping their berths open for them, and that when the men return from the wars they will be able to step into the places- they vacated at the country's call twelve months ago. Promotion awaits not a few of the Civil Servants, for the organisation of the new administrations in the Orange River Colony and the' Transvaal will create very many gaps in the ranks of the Civil Service of this colony. A heavy drain will be. made upon the railway, postal and • telegraph departments, so that there will be many positions awaiting men who come from England or other parts of the Empire. In this connection I may mention that the Queensland Government has sent a Special Commissioner to this country for the double purpose of stimulating trade'between South Africa, and that colony, and to use all endeavours to induce the thousands of men who have come from Queensland to return at the close of the war. I had a chat with the Commissioner the other day, and he said that Queensland could not afford to lose nermanently the men who formed the Colonial Contingent that. ca:ns over several months ago. They comprised some of the best manhood of the colony, and at the time that the bovernment was spending thousands of pounds per annum in inducing immigration England, it could nob sit idly by and allow the best of the manhood of the colony to drift away without making an effort to get the men back. This is the only Australasian Administration which seems to have thought it worth while to make a special effort to get the men back to their homes. Maybe the attractions of other colonies are sufficient to secure the return of the men without any Commissioner being sent over here for the purpose It is noteworthy that for the most" part the Colonial Contingents are being employed on the most difficult work of wearing down the enemy. Hen with the splendid qualifications possessed almost invariably by colonists are too valuable to be wasted upon police duty in Johannesburg, Pretoria or Bloemfontein while the work of pacification is proceeding. They are sent into the rural districts to hunt down the Boers who still hold the field, and who make the work of the last stages .exceedingly difficult, Thei remoteness of some of these colonial detachments from the scene where the Press correspondents are. for the present congregated makes the task of chronicling their doings an exceedingly unsatisfactory one. For example, a colonial contingent of a composite character has been doing excellent work' in the Western Transvaal, but little notice appears to have been given to its doings for the simple reason that there was no correspondent there, whose business it was to record the fact for the enlightenment of the general community. Someone, however, sent an account of one piece of work to the " Bulawayo Chronicle," and in case it has not found its way to New Zealand through other channels, I send it along. The Contingent was at Ottoshoop, a mining settlement about fifteen miles along the road to Pretoria from Mafeking. I have travelled over the country, and can realise the tough character of the work that any men musfc have in holding it against such an adversary as the wily Boer. Ttoa enemy had been increasing their strength in that region, and were emboldened to try their luck upon another dash on the line connecting Cape Town with Bulawaj-o. Ottoshoop forming an excellent base for the purpose. General Lord Douglass was in command! of the little garrison, and on a given day and at a given signal the whole force lined up ready for business. The correspondent may be left to tell what happened in his own words: — "At one o'clock in the day the whole of the squadrons lined up on the parade ground, and were marched in the direction of the Malmani River on. the north of the town. After some delay, while the work in hand was explained to our respective leaders, forth, we started to locate the enemy. " The work of first drawing the enemy's fire was entrusted to the Tasinanians, they taking the centre position of attack. As we went forward we expected every moment to receive a volley of fire, so Capatin Riggall ordered us to extend well out. After riding about a mile- in this fashion, Captain Riggall decided to send two scouts out, giving them instructions to go forward until fired upon, and then retire quickly to cover. It was dangerous work but the Australians acted bravely, and,before long bullets began to rain around them. Having now completed their mission, they retired at top speed to cover, all being glad that they had come out without a scratch. It was now evident thab the Boers were located in the two kopjes straight ahead, their distance from the nearest cover being about 2500 yds, their numbers being as yet unknown. There was a long extent- of flat between, without a particle of cover, so we had to content ousel ves with plugging away at long i range. At first it was difficult to find the I range, bub the Boers were better prepared, and seemingly had' had tho distance measured, their shots falling much too close to be pleasant. The South Australians on our left seemed to be ihaying a rather warm time, while the New South Wales , men on our right were also hard at work ; the Tasraanians in the centre were backed up by a. portion of the New Zealanders. Presently our big guns began to boom out, and it was a, grand sight to see the" shells bursting over the kopjes, every now and again a party of men scattering out, showing that we were doing a little execution. Our volleys were answered by volleys from the enemyj little damage seemingly being done on either side. Towards sundown the thought was entertained of charging the position., but on the South Australians feigning the attempt the enemy poured in such an incessant volley of fire that their numbers were shown to be much greater than we expected. Aa the sun was about to set behind the hills, most of us were withdrawn back to camp, the remainder staying to keep guard over places of ad- ' vantage. I am sorry to say that .Captain Hubbe, of the South Australians, was shot through the breast, he being the only one killed amongst the Bushmen. Two troopers were wounded 1 and several horses ■were killed and wounded."